NEONATAL services at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) have been boosted with the donation of a mechanical ventilator, valued at approximately $4 million, from Guardian Life Limited and the Guardian Group Foundation.

Speaking at the handing-over ceremony on Thursday, Dr Yanique Brown, consultant paediatrician and head of the Neonatal Care Unit, VJH, said that the machine, which has already been put into use by the hospital since March, has strengthened the efforts made by the department to treat more babies with severe respiratory challenges. She added that the hospital now has three ventilators.

Dr Brown also expressed thanks to the donors for their demonstration of corporate social responsibility and in the public health interest of Jamaicans.

In January, the Guardian Group Foundation donated surgical equipment, valued at US$9000, to the Kingston Public Hospital.

President of Guardian Life Limited Eric Hosin said that he is proud to be giving back to his birthplace, through the efforts of the organisation, including the funds that were raised from the 2019 ‘Keep It Alive’ 5K Night Runs. “I felt the need to assist when I read on the news that the hospital only had one ventilator last year,” he said.

Dr Stephanie Reid, chairman of the Kingston Public and Victoria Jubilee Hospitals’ Management Committee, expressed profound gratitude to the donors for their continued support, adding that this life-saving equipment will go a far way in assisting the department to save more premature neonates.

The Victoria Jubilee Hospital delivers 7,000 babies annually and 300 infants are admitted per month in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.